Mulberry Home | Rattan Chenille

Rattan Chenille is a woven chenille with the fine, all-over basket texture its name promises, a raised, looped surface that catches the light in a way a flat weave never does. The chenille yarn is a mix of viscose and cotton, wrapped around a polyester core, which is what gives the pile its density and its resistance to crushing. It is a cloth you feel before you notice the colour, and it wears its texture rather than a print.

The composition is 17 per cent polyester, 60 per cent viscose and 23 per cent cotton, and the weave has a short 8 centimetre repeat, close enough to an all-over that matching is barely a concern. It is 137 centimetres wide and tested to 51,000 rubs on the Martindale scale, well over the mark for heavy domestic upholstery, so it will take a family sofa. There is one colourway, Red/Green, a warm, tonal weave rather than a bold contrast.

We would put this on a sofa or a pair of armchairs that get daily use, where the texture does the work a print would elsewhere. It also makes a good footstool or a window seat cushion. Keep the rest of the room in plains and a floral cushion or two, since the chenille itself is already a texture statement. Sold by the half metre; order a sample to see it in your own light.

A making-up note: with a repeat this small, order as you would a plain and let your upholsterer run the pile in one direction across a sofa so the light catches it evenly, checking the nap the way you would a velvet. It is rated for upholstery at this rub count, so a family sofa is a fair use for it, but it should still be dry cleaned rather than home-washed.

• Composition: 17% polyester, 60% viscose, 23% cotton
• Width: 137 cm (54 in)
• Pattern repeat: 8 cm vertical
• Abrasion resistance: 51,000 rubs (Martindale)
• Suitable for: Curtains, loose upholstery, fixed upholstery, bedspreads
• Care: Dry clean only; do not wash, bleach or iron
• Collection: Festival Collection, Mulberry Home
• Colourways: 1 (Red/Green)